inner sense of right and wrong
Someone judges Andy at the outset as a man the group already knew was ethically unsteady.
Andy, in many ways, was someone we all knew didn't have a strong moral compass.Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room · 2005 — 第 2 / 3 章 · 2'27" · C1
Fastow Admits Both Sides, Explained：both sides of the transaction
On the surface, someone is selling bankers a fund that buys only Enron assets and answering a conflict question with "There is never any question that I will be on both sides of the transaction." Underneath, others insist Skilling, Lay, and the board signed off, so one man was not the sole villain.
あらすじ
A commentator says Andy lacked a strong moral compass and was set up to plug earnings holes while skimming off each deal. Someone wishes he had never heard of LJM. The account rejects Fastow as the sole cause: Skilling, Lay, and the board signed off on his funds. On a secret post-bankruptcy tape, he pitches Merrill bankers and claims he will always sit on the LJM side.
注目の表現
moral compassskim a little bit offsuckered intowish I'd never heard of
00:00 / 02:27Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
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このシーンの表現
both sides of the transaction
on both ends of one deal
Asked about a conflict, he treats standing on both ends as a settled fact.
Do not claim both sides of the transaction and then call yourself neutral.
このシーンの他の表現
- moral compass
inner sense of right and wrong
- skim a little bit off
quietly take a small cut each time
- suckered into
tricked into going along
- wish I'd never heard of
regret ever knowing it existed
- sole agent of the apocalypse
one person blamed for total collapse
このシーンのメモ一覧
30 行のセリフに 29 件のメモ
contact clause: The missing relative makes him the man everyone already knew lacked a standard.
Andy, in many ways, was someone we all knew didn't have a strong moral compass.quietly take a small cut each time
The setup assumes he will keep a personal cut on every deal, and the tone stays dry.
Let's set up Andy so we can fill the earnings' holes when we need to', knowing that Andy would probably skim a little bit off each transaction for himself.place someone into a deal to use later
Let's set up Andy so we can fill the earnings' holes when we need to', knowing that Andy would probably skim a little bit off each transaction for himself.take a quiet cut — Casual for a small graft; name the amount in a charge.
Let's set up Andy so we can fill the earnings' holes when we need to', knowing that Andy would probably skim a little bit off each transaction for himself.hit the profit figures they had to show
You know, in the end, he got suckered into helping all the executives meet their earnings.looking back after the fact
What I wish, I, you know, in retrospect?Keep wish and I'd close, and leave the final d light.
I wish I'd never heard of LJM.examine something with real rigor
Arthur Andersen and our lawyers had taken a very hard look at this structure and they believed it was appropriate.conditional clause: If sets up a theory, and that introduces the claim being tested.
If the theory is that Fastow went rogue somewhere deep in the jungles of Enronbroke away and acted alone — Fine in casual blame; too loose for a formal report.
If the theory is that Fastow went rogue somewhere deep in the jungles of EnronI reject that story — Use it with peers, not in a filing or a hearing answer.
I just don't buy it.approved after review
Naming who signed pulls the blame back from one man to the people who approved the funds.
Skilling, Lay, and the Enron board had signed off on Fastow's LJM funds.enter deals with a named party the counterparty here is himself
They saw the benefits of letting Fastow do deals with himself.what most benefits that party
It is in Enron's best interest, because Enron needs the capital, number one.sell people on an idea's benefits
He pitches them on the benefits of investing in a fund that only buys assets from Enron.promise that the other side will profit
He could guarantee profits for LJM.a smug smile that knows the trick the grin of someone who already sees the profit
He has a sort of Cheshire Cat grin on his face as he talks about all the ways that the fund is gonna profit.Take gonna as going to compressed, without rebuilding two words.
He has a sort of Cheshire Cat grin on his face as he talks about all the ways that the fund is gonna profit.extra information that comes with a position
And he talks about the informational advantages that he is gonna have in his dual role as Enron's CFO and as the head of these funds.two posts held by the same person
And he talks about the informational advantages that he is gonna have in his dual role as Enron's CFO and as the head of these funds.duties that pull the same person two ways
Isn't there a question of conflict of interest?on both ends of one deal
Asked about a conflict, he treats standing on both ends as a settled fact.
There is never any question that I will be on both sides of the transaction.Put the weight on never and ease off through the next words.
There is never any question that I will be on both sides of the transaction.during the same stretch of time
He was general partner of LJM, while at the same time, being CFO of Enron.The start of another is cut; restore the whole word as you listen.
You know, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax when you want to talk about that conflict of interest.look after Enron's interests
Because no human being should be put in a situation where, you know, every single transaction, they decide whether they're looking after Enron's best interests or their limited partners.investors who fund but do not run daily operations
Because no human being should be put in a situation where, you know, every single transaction, they decide whether they're looking after Enron's best interests or their limited partners.whether clause: Whether forces a choice between the company and the partners.
Because no human being should be put in a situation where, you know, every single transaction, they decide whether they're looking after Enron's best interests or their limited partners.「Fastow Admits Both Sides」を読み解く
What's really going on
These lines refuse the claim that Fastow was "the sole agent of the apocalypse." Andy "didn't have a strong moral compass." Skilling could set him up to "fill the earnings' holes," knowing he would "skim a little bit off each transaction." He got "suckered into helping all the executives meet their earnings." One line is "I wish I'd never heard of LJM." Andersen and the lawyers are said to have believed the structure was appropriate. A separate line is "I just don't buy it." Skilling, Lay, and the board "had signed off on Fastow's LJM funds" and "saw the benefits of letting Fastow do deals with himself." On the secret tape someone says, "There is never any question that I will be on both sides of the transaction," and "I will always be on the LJM side of the transaction." Someone calls that conflict "a whole 'nother ball of wax": nobody should choose, on every deal, between Enron and the limited partners.
Theme
CorruptionSkilling, Lay, and the board sign off on funds that let Fastow deal with himself and promise profits from inside Enron.
DeceptionThe pitch says the company, not he, is selling assets to LJM, then admits he will always stand on the fund's side.
発音のポイント
- wish I'd never — Keep wish and I'd close, and leave the final d light.
- is gonna profit — Take gonna as going to compressed, without rebuilding two words.
- never any question — Put the weight on never and ease off through the next words.
- whole 'nother ball — The start of another is cut; restore the whole word as you listen.
Andy, in many ways, was someone we all knew didn't have a strong moral compass.Someone is saying Andy was already known to lack an inner sense of right and wrong, so putting him inside the deals was a choice, not a surprise.
You know, in the end, he got suckered into helping all the executives meet their earnings.Looking back, he was talked into a setup whose real job was helping executives hit their earnings numbers.
I wish I'd never heard of LJM.A blunt regret: he wants no connection to the LJM funds at all, as if hearing the name was the mistake.
They saw the benefits of letting Fastow do deals with himself.The bosses were not blind to the self-dealing; they approved it because Fastow trading with himself helped Enron.
There is never any question that I will be on both sides of the transaction.Faced with a conflict question, the speaker treats sitting on both sides of the same deal as obvious, not as a problem to deny.
I will always be on the LJM side of the transaction.He picks a side out loud: whatever the deal, his loyalty in it runs to LJM, not to Enron.
このシーンについての質問
Why is the idea that Fastow alone caused the collapse rejected?
Because the lines say Skilling, Lay, and the Enron board had signed off on Fastow's LJM funds and saw the benefits of letting him do deals with himself. The rejection is stated outright: "I just don't buy it."
What did the board and the top executives approve?
They signed off on Fastow's LJM funds. One line says Arthur Andersen and the lawyers believed the structure was appropriate. Another says Enron needs the capital.
How does the man on the secret tape handle the conflict-of-interest question?
He does not deny the conflict. He says there is never any question he will be on both sides of the transaction, and that he will always be on the LJM side. He also claims he is not selling the assets to himself, because "They own the assets. They're selling them to LJM2."
Why is this conflict called a whole other ball of wax?
Because the speaker says no one should be put in a position where every transaction forces a choice between looking after Enron's best interests and looking after their limited partners. That is treated as a different problem from a routine conflict question.
Does "I wish I'd never heard of LJM" mean the speaker thought the structure was appropriate?
No. That line sits with the regret of someone who got suckered into helping executives meet their earnings. The claim that the structure was appropriate comes afterward, when Andersen and the lawyers are cited.
次のチャプター · 第 3 章losing it
